ROBINZINA BRYANT, first district, Flossmoor. Board chair. Former FBI special agent investigating counterterrorism, white collar crime, bank fraud, and wire and mail fraud in St. Louis and Chicago from 1997 to 2007. Member of Chicago Bar Association, American Bar Association and Christian Legal Society. Bachelor’s degree in social work, Illinois State University; master’s in education, Illinois State University; law degree, Drake University Law School.

SERGIO ACOSTA, second district, Elmhurst. Partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP. Former chief of general crimes section of the U.S. attorney’s office northern Illinois district. Former Assistant state’s attorney in Miami. Served on Chicago’s Ethics Reform Task Force and as an administrator on the Illinois Gaming Board. Bachelor’s, DePaul University; law degree, George Washington University School of Law.

PATRICK CHESLEY, fourth district, Springfield. Former 30-year assistant U.S. attorney, central district of Illinois, prosecuting white collar crimes; also was antiterrorism coordinator there for six years. Served in attorney general’s office specializing in environmental violations. Law degree, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The board, tasked with either sustaining or upholding the objections, has sustained a total of 282 objections as of Friday, according to Illinois State Police spokeswoman Monique Bond. She said a total of 1,331 objections have been made.

The seven-member board is comprised of commissioners appointed by Gov. Pat Quinn; three are appointed from the 1st Judicial District, which covers Cook County, and one each from the other four judicial districts. Their initial term ends Jan. 12, 2015. After that, commissioners can be reappointed to subsequent four-year terms.

One commissioner must have at least five years’ experience as a federal judge, according to the law; two must have spent at least five years as an attorney with the U.S. Justice Department; three must have spent at least five years as an agent with investigative experience from the Justice Department, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of Homeland Security or the FBI; and one must have served at least five years as a licensed physician or psychologist with expertise in mental illness.

“Having a history in the criminal field gives you a good background to understand what types of people would be good candidates or bad candidates to have a concealed carry permit,” said Patrick Chesley, a Springfield resident, former assistant U.S. attorney and one of the commissioners on the board.

Board chair and former FBI special agent Robinzina Bryant of Flossmoor said the structure “brings a lot of diversity to look at things from different angles.”

The law states that board commissioners are to be compensated at a salary similar to members of the Executive Ethics Commission. That salary is $37,571 per year, according to EEC officials.

The board doesn’t have a set schedule, but meets on an as-needed basis when objection deadlines approach. Bryant said a flexible schedule was important because many of the commissioners juggle these duties with full-time jobs.

Applicant objections

Applicants seeking a permit must be at least 21 years old, must have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card, cannot have been convicted of a felony, cannot have been found guilty of the use or threat of violence to anyone within five years of applying, cannot have two or more DUI violations within five years of applying, cannot be the subject of a pending arrest warrant, cannot have been in court-ordered substance abuse treatment programs within five years of application, cannot have been the subject of a protective order within five years of application, and must have completed the required 16 hours of firearm training.

The Illinois State Police or any local law enforcement agency may object to a person’s concealed carry license application if that agency believes the above criteria aren’t met or if other information gathered during the checks raises questions.

Page 2 of 2 - ISP and local agencies have the authority to check FBI criminal background databases, all local and state criminal history records, all wanted persons records, all domestic violence records, all Department of Human Services records on mental health, and any other federal, state or local records likely to contain information relevant to a background check.

Bond called the dual state and local background check process “a parallel track,” and said that “the General Assembly envisioned a process that was going to be multi-layered.”

“Some examples of sustained objections could include an applicant with no convictions, but may have a history of multiple arrests or multiple calls to their home — usually domestic violence,” Bond said, citing information provided to her by Bryant.

“Either charges are dropped or the victim refuses to press charges. Cases like these can point to recurring patterns,” she said.

Some objections “might not be strong enough or serious enough for the board to determine that it’s something that should prevent the applicant from getting a permit,” she said.

But other issues, regardless of how far back in the past they are, compel the board to sustain an objection.

Bond said one example of that is impersonating a law enforcement officer with an unlawful use of a weapon.

“Every law enforcement agency that has a question about an applicant is doing their due diligence,” she said. “They’re doing the right thing. This is exactly how the process should be working.”

Court challenges

The board has 30 days to sustain or overturn objections.

Chesley said when the board members make a decision, they notify both the ISP and the local law enforcement department that made the initial objection.

But even that decision is not necessarily final. Applicants may challenge the board’s ruling through the courts, though, according to Bond, no one yet has challenged an objection sustained by the board.

The board is required to submit a monthly report to the General Assembly documenting the number and types of objections it reviews.